


Something Left Behind

by Zombiegravitation



Category: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Incest, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-03-28 17:31:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3863326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zombiegravitation/pseuds/Zombiegravitation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Pietro’s presence has always been wrapped around her like a blanket, his heart beat along with hers, even before the experiments and then–</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <i>Her breath hitched as she felt it – every shot, every sluggish heart beat, the nothingness– suddenly breathing became the hardest thing she had to do.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Don’t Want To Go

Twelve minutes.

Life started with her protector coming twelve minutes ahead of her. Her brother, her best friend, a constant overbearing shadow, _her heart_ was always there. Pietro only had twelve minutes without Wanda and the pain of it was too much, even at birth he wailed knowing he was missing his other half.

If there was one thing Wanda never did was doubt her brother. Pietro made her feel many things; fear, worry, stress, longing, love but she has never felt doubt. She never doubted him when they were growing up alone in the orphanage, not when they started rioting, not even when they volunteered for the enhancements. In the end, everything he said and done for them is laden with thought and measure, everything he did was for her.

She couldn’t remember a day without him. Wanda remembers crawling after him as he took his first steps, she remembers asking him to tie her ribbons when Mama was to busy. She remembers how they always held hands no matter where they were, it was his hand that she clenched as she stared at the bomb wondering if the next shift was the one to set it off. She remembers him sneaking into her bed in the orphanage, wrapping around each other, pressing kisses to skin whispered loving words. Even within the cells until they were allowed out; they could always sense each other on the other side of the wall, talking to each through the grated doors never once feeling alone.

And all it took was twelve minutes for all that to be torn away.

It felt like her heart had been ripped out. No, no it wasn’t. She could deal with her heart leaving her flesh, at least she could get the sweet bliss of death not long after. It was more like her soul was ripped asunder and all that was left was these tiny shreds. Just barely enough to survive.

Pietro’s presence has always been wrapped around her like a blanket, his heart beat along with hers, even before the experiments and then–

Her breath hitched as she felt it – every shot, every sluggish heart beat, the nothingness– suddenly breathing became the hardest thing she had to do.

-

__

_'Go!' Wanda yells, and he doubts her for a second. He doesn’t want to listen to her, something within him resonated with fear. Everything in him screams at him to stay, to be with her and protect her here, the Avengers could take care of the rest, there was no one here to protect Wanda only him. Like always. 'Go! This is my job. I can do this.'_

_He hesitates, his foot poised to go forward. She gives him a harsh glare, urging him to go on. One slow step backwards, then another, but it doesn't mean he wants go._

_'Go,' she yells again. 'Do not come back for me until every person is off this rock.'_

_He can feel her guilt, her regret at unleashing this mechanical beast. All the loss she caused, she didn‘t want anyone else to suffer like they have. Pietro knows she still sees that vision, the annihilation of life. It plays over and over in her mind while she fights them off._

_‘Pietro. Listen to me. Do not come back for me before then.’ She said to him, her voice firm and low despite the wary smile on her face. He hesitated just for a split second, before returning his own small smile– a face full of affection and barely hidden smugness– he takes one deep breath and nods._

_She hadn’t felt afraid when she let him go._

　

-

“Come back to me, brother.” She whispered her voice strengthening to a wail. “Pietro, come back. Come back!”

Red flooded her vision as she tried in vain to bring her brother to her. She continued to scream, her powers swelling bigger and bigger with each scream. She didn’t see Thor entering instead, watching with something unknown to Wanda as her enhancement lashing out with a fury. There was no pride in her actions only pain, letting the bots feel only a fraction of it.

By the time she finds Ultron he is nothing but a crumpled mess of metal and failure, seeing him doesn‘t stir anything. Not the ill placed feelings of pride, loyalty and admiration, nor does it make her want to seek revenge for Pietro.

She kneels down next to him, and he starts to talk.

“Do you know what death feels like?” she asks quietly once he‘s finished.

As she looks at his mangled body, Wanda thinks of the cat she tried to rescue years ago. Someone had run over it, it‘s body distorted beyond anything she could help; there was no animal doctor near by and even if there was, they had no money to pay. Not that it mattered to Pietro, he could already see it was dying only a miracle could save it and with them around he doubted any would happen. ‘The best thing was to put it out of its misery,’ he told her. ‘Make it quick.’

He had reached out cradling it head for a second, but Wanda’s hands stilled his. She laid her own atop of his and together they dealt with it.

She can almost hear his voice again as she lets her fingers drag against Ultron‘s chest, repeating the words like a mantra. _‘The best thing was to put it out of its misery, make it quick. Make it quick. Make it quick. Make it quick. Makeitquickmakeitquickmakeitqui–'_

She watches detached as she slowly pulls the core that he calls his heart from his husk. The red glow fades from his eyes as she cradles it in her hand.

“It feels like this.”

Wanda blankly stared out from within, not caring anymore, letting herself fall. Yet someone thought she was worth it, lifting her out and away, and she thought of Pietro. She blindly reached out for his mind, longing for the connection.

But no. This mind was different. Instead it was…


	2. I Don't Want To Stay

The first time she sees her brother, she wails and struggles to get towards him. He was left there laying on the grate of the aircraft, no one worried for a dead man, not when there were living people to tend to first. There was nothing to shield him as both victors and survivors stared at them. Her powers start to spike; a red energy swirled brushing against people's minds, and some began screaming as their worst fears were realized.

"Take her out. Sedate her now!" Agent Ross snarled, holding back a woman from jumping overboard. Agent Belikov aimed his taser at Wanda and fired. Wanda's teeth snapped and she seized violently before blacking out.

When she came to, she looked around for her brother. When reality came back to her, everything within twenty feet shattered. Wanda sobbed, holding herself tight. It'd taken hours to get her calmed and even then only Vision was allowed near her. 

After her second incident, Fury refused to let her see the body - _"The body,"she spat at Fury "has a name. It's not just a body. He was real, Pietro lived."_ \- wanting to prevent her from spiraling out again. Wanda felt rage burning inside her until Vision brings her to where all the dead were kept, right to Pietro’s body.

Tears welled in her eyes as she left Vision’s loose grasp and stumbled to Pietro. Hope bloomed as her hands glowed red, red tendrils snaked out claiming his body, she pressed her lips against his forehead desperately trying to find the beautiful mind underneath.

Blank.

Nothing left.

He was just gone.

Not even an echo.

As sobs wracked her body, she wished for her death or his life, she didn’t care which as long as they were together again.

“He would have want you to live.” Vision murmured, clearly guessing her intentions.

“How would you know what he would want? You didn’t know him. You’re not even real!” She snarled, her hands tightening her hold on Pietro’s shirt. Her hands grew sticky with blood and nausea bloomed in her belly. “Leave.”

Vision blinks once, cocking his head before deciding she is well enough on her own. "Very well, I hope you come to find what you need, Miss Maximoff."

-

She doesn’t look at the official reports at all. They reminded her too much of Strucker.

Wanda remembers reading the files Strucker had on them and bile rose up her throat. It was like they were dealing with animals instead of humans. It was clinical and bland yet horrifying. 

They hadn't just asked for volunteers they'd taken them, Hydra sparked the riots and used them to take people as subjects and as targets. She found a few files on friends who'd been black bagged during riots, most died the first week. Dmitri, who'd led their faction of the rebellion before he disappeared, lasted three months in the experiments. None of that had been released to them when they volunteered. 

They volunteered to be those vipers' weapons. They had disgraced their friends and essentially spat on them. Dmitri would've been disgusted with them. 

Wanda looked all over for Barton, she want to directly hear from his mouth what happened to her other half. She showed up to the first training session looking for answers. She watched Wilson and Rhodes fly around, touching down when the doors slid open. 

But he was gone.

Romanov says he had a mission. Rogers gets shifty and avoids her eyes as he repeats the words. She doesn’t trust Wilson or Rhodes. Vision makes her feel– well she doesn’t know what she feels but she doesn’t want to find out. She asks over and over until Stark snaps, yelling “He’s with his fucking wife!”

Wanda’s face gets all pinched and white, she stays in her room and she stops going to training.

It’s not fair. 

The fucking coward. 

He gets to go home to his wife, hold her, _love her_ , all while Wanda grieves.

A plan forms in her mind and it’s easy to pull what she needs from a few agents. The farm was in Iowa, all she needed was Pietro and a way to get to Iowa. 

Wanda bought two tickets, one for a bus to Iowa and the other, a plane ticket to Berlin, from there she'd travel on the trains back to Sokovia. Once she dealt with Barton she'd go home and free Pietro. Wanda knew Pietro would never want to be buried, stuck in the ground with no chance of freedom. 

It’s only hours later that she leaves her Avengers ID card on the bed, taking only the clothes on her back and Pietro’s urn cushioned inside a black backpack.

Wanda just keeps walking once she’s off base. She ignores the car trailing a couple hundred feet back, pretends there aren’t agents in the woods. 

By the time she makes it there, the bus is already in the station. She sits in the front closest to door, opening the backpack to check on Pietro. She hates the urn, it looks more like a giant travel mug than an urn.

Someone slips in the seat next to her. Wanda chooses to ignore them, instead cradling Pietro to her chest, softly singing her mother’s lullaby as the bus turned onto the road.

“You could’ve just asked. I would have taken you.” A calm voice says. Wanda turns to face them, Rogers' hulking form sticking out. In the aisle across from them, Romanov's form turned to look at the passing scenery. 

Wanda snorts, “You couldn’t even look me in the eyes. What makes you think I could trust you?”

His mouth opens then closes, he doesn’t have a real answer. “I know how you feel. I lost so many people, so many friends.”

“But you don’t get it. He was a part of me, he’s _always_ been a part of me. Having him ripped away and not knowing– it hurts. Why didn’t Barton at least tell me before he ran?”

“Guilt.”

“Well then, I should forgive him then. Forget everything,” Her words shifted from sarcastic to more desperate. “You don’t know what its like having one person be your whole world, only to have it shattered! And then no one, not even the man he gave his life for is willing to look you in the eyes and tell you.”

"The reports can tell you-"

"I know you have people you've lost, I've seen your mind. The woman who moved on and aged, the soldier you thought you lost and is missing. Did you like finding out their fates through papers?"

Steve's jaw clenched, he had to admit he didn't. But finding out like that had been better than an angry confrontation.

"When we get there, don't yell. Just listen. Its gonna be hard to hear what he says, hell you might even deny it, even try to argue but you need to listen. Or else you'll never get your peace."

-

From the moment they arrived, Wanda had been told to wait with Laura and the kids. The girl looked at her with wide eyes, wanting to reach out to touch before back tracking. The boy just played with his toys occasionally peeking up at Wanda shyly. 

It was the baby that took her attention, he had her brother's name. He was lovely, so chubby, giggly and dark haired it was hard to see Barton in him.

But so easy to imagine her brother.

And suddenly everything felt like fire.

"I need air."

Her sudden movement and sound startled the baby, he wailed shrilly, alerting the arguing trio in the kitchen.

"I guess that's my cue to go." Clint said rather dejectedly. He understands, if something happened to Laura, to Tasha, he'd want it from the horse's mouth. He just doesn't want to relive those moments, he already has nightmares from it.

She's crouched by the stump, waiting for him one hand curled around the urn and the over she used to absently trace the nicks & gouges in the stump.

"What happened?" Wanda abruptly turned to look at him, a wild look in her eyes. "Just please, _please_ tell me."

"It started with a woman..."

-

_The woman was crying, looking around frantically for someone. Clint barely paid any mind to her outstretched hands or the frightened look on her face. He can't risk distractions, not with Stark's plan._

_“My son!” she sobs. “He was in the market!”_

_She points, and his eyes follow her finger. All he can see is rubble and he's about to look away when he sees something -no, someone- move. The woman looks as if she's about to jump off and go for the boy herself. Clint sighs, running off the carrier._

_He reaches the boy, and he's struck by the surge of protectiveness, he needs to save this kid. He's not sure why though, the boy bears little resemblance to his own son, yet Clint is sure the wave of protectiveness is just as strong. He flashes a smile, urging the boy to his hold._

_He glances around, and he sees nothing. No bots, no other civilians, and nothing that might've fallen on them. He bolts, clutching the boy fiercely to him and then just barely he hears it through his damaged hearing aid._

_Its a plane, not unlike the quinjet, the major difference being who the pilot is._

_Ultron._

_Clint doesn't bother to keep looking, he can't escape but maybe he can keep the boy from being too heavily injured. He hunched over the child, shielding him with his own body._

_The only thoughts racing through his head are stupid, they're not really about his kids or Laura or even Tasha. He doesn't think much about the fact that he's going to die or that he feels his heartbeat growing faster. All he can think of is all those half finished renovations that he's leaving behind, how he should have kept to one project rather than starting a new one half way through and how nobody is ever going to finish them._

_Something almost slams into him but its not bullets. His eyes open slowly and looks in disbelief. If anything the few bullets he sees slam into the ground but not hitting either of them._

_He turned his gaze to his side._

_Pietro._

_Barely an adult according to his file, and yet there he was giving up his life. Standing over him, over them, smiling and baring bloody teeth. Body riddled with bleeding bullet holes._

_He's not sure if he heard right or not, but Pietro muttered some slurred nonsense, ending it with Wanda's name._

_“I bet you did not see that coming,” Pietro choked out, bloody saliva staining his smirking mouth, before he collapses onto the concrete street._

_Clint wants to rush to him, but he has a choice to make: either he rushes to Pietro and risks the kid or he get the kid to safety and if he has time bring Pietro's body abroad._

_He moves hefting the kid roughly and bolted. He gets him to the carrier but they start moving and he doesn't have time to go back._

_But Clint does, because someone had to bring him home for his sister._

_Someone yells at him but he's too focused on the body laying still in what had been the middle of the road._

_Only one shot._

-

Wanda sobs, she wishes she could've have heard Pietro's words to her. She wishes she had died rather than feel the phantom sensation of bullets piercing them. Yet those English words were just like her brother, sarcastic to the end.

"Thank you," She sobbed, scrubbing her face. "He wasn't alone. At least you were there for him."

'When I couldn't ' is left unsaid but obviously heard.

Clint felt more than a little awkward, he never had to deal with the aftermath of a death. Shield always did that. He wasn't sure what to do, he rubbed her back like he did for his daughter whenever she had nightmares and it seemed to calm her.

Wanda cries for a while longer, but neither move once she's done. They're left to their thoughts for at least an hour before she stands abruptly her brother's urn still clutched in her arm.

"I think I will go now."

-

The air is cold here, biting her bare skin as the train moves. She doesn't move to go inside or cover herself though, it reminds her she can still feel, that she's still alive. Her backpack sits beside her, one strap clutched firmly in her hand.

There is a man staring at her from inside the train. There is not many others on it, so It is obvious where his gaze is at, but why would anyone go anywhere near Sokovia now? There was nothing but a crater and ruins left, but her and Pietro's favorite place had always been on the outskirts of the town.

Sokovia had been beautiful once before the riots, but her thoughts of then are so murky she can't truly remember. 

But the river had always been beautiful, she and Pietro had followed it once. It led to rapids and finished with a fall. Pietro had once mentioned bringing a boat and trying it.

She half laughed half yelled that he would die if he did and he had merely said it would be a lovely place to rest. 

The man's gaze was persistent though, and twice Wanda has met his eyes before she looked away.

There is something familiar in his gaze; something hollow almost gutted yet a small flame of determination still burns somewhere deep within him. Its a look she's sure she'll find in herself if she dared to look in the mirror.

She is not surprised when the door opens but she is surprised to feel something heavy drape her shoulders and something dropped next to her backpack before the door closed again.

A plain zip up jacket. Almost mechanically she put it on; it smelled masculine and like sweat, there were strange red stains on it but she rather not ask. Yet the strangest thing was the whole jacket was hot except for the left sleeve. It was barely warmed.

She looked up but he had either given her a spare or had quickly put on a new one but she swears she saw a glint of silver as he shoved his hands in his pocket.

Wanda grabbed the other thing he left. 

A blanket. 

He gave her a blanket. And not just any blanket, it looked like something a grandmother would make by hand. Something fragile, soft yet inviting and comforting, Wanda felt a surge of emotion flow through her, she felt like crying as she wrapped it around herself.

-

Wanda still has the blanket around herself, she and the hollow man had walked jointly toward what had been Sokovia, they had separated before they even saw the sign. He had gone towards the rubble, a place and a symbol at the forefront of his mind. 

Hydra.

His dreams tasted like vengeance and longing. He just wanted his identity back and he was sure by destroying Hydra he would get it. She hadn't stayed long enough to see who he longed for but she thought she saw a familiar figure before she pulled herself out of his dreams.

But he would be too late, whatever Strucker had was gone, all of it taken by what was left of Shield.

So Wanda had gone the opposite way, choosing the long route to the river. And with a handful of short cuts, it hadn't taken her long to reach it, she had known Sokovia like her hand.

The river hasn't changed much since they were children. Still moving, still dangerous and still beautiful. 

"I hope you can hear me," Wanda yelled at the sky. "I'm freeing you today but know you're still here in my heart. One day I hope I will join you again brother, I promise."

Wanda released his ashes, guiding their flow with her power when it looked to be falling towards land. She felt at peace watching the ashes slip down into the water, careening down the falls.

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this in my head the minute it happened. It would have been a better movie if this, the constant "I'm a monster." comparison among the Avengers & Bruce and the whole clunky Bruce/Natasha thing were out of it. Story and Chapter Titles from The Civil War's song "Go". I'm kinda nervous about this since its my official entrance to the Marvel Fanfic.


End file.
